we all know of the people who are agains tbuying from Petsmart and Petco i have nothing against such people my theory is thee is a better way to deal with this mistreatment of animals
instead of avoiding there if u decide to then just go in and see that oarticular petsmart petco.etc and see what the conditons are, i know of a few that dont take care of there fish and other animals well at all but there has been a few that have suprised me with their amazing treatement and enthuasiam about carring for the animals, next time u enter such a store just see the conditions if well then tell a store manager " hey i like this place u r doing a good job with animal care thank u" if they are poor care there then say " Hey theese animals arent doiung well and dont look well, they need to be cared for better, plz fix this or this is the kinda thing that will put uu outa business" if everyone does this and shows good stores that they apreciated for their hard work and good care and the b ad ones that they need to better or they will go outa business
plz help get better care for the animals but not buy refusing petsmart and such because not every1 will and if u just dont buy there then those fish will stay in poor conditoions and die so plz consider this i mena no offense to those against petsmart as they have apoint but just try and change it instead of ignore this thx for reading this!!!!

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Bruins rule!

Good topic! I've had mixed experience with Petco, Walmart, Petsmart, and even specialty aquarium stores. I think that you're absolutely right that outright dismissal of the chain stores is probably overkill. In general though, the odds of receiving good advice are higher at a LFS. Our local Petco is pretty pathetic, but I was quite impressed with a Petsmart recently. They had a lot of aquariums, well-stocked with healthy looking fish. I would definitely visit them again in the future. A young lady at my LFS advised me to go ahead a buy a couple of platies even though the nitrite levels were high... So, at the end of the day, what we need to do is find someone who knows what he's talking about and stick to him/her. I'm unlikely to use Petco again and Walmart was pretty much a disaster not even worth mentioning.

I agree it depends on the store...but by going with a LFS over a big box chain store you are more likely to get individual attention, and are supporting the local economy as well. Just my opinon.

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

from what i've seen most of them just want to make a buck, there are a few who actually care for the animals but not enough..., at the petco i go to i wont go there unless its sunday around mid afternoon cause thats the only day this one old timer works and boy does he know his stuff, lol

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10g- 2 hi-fin fm platys, 3 koi & red wag sword fry
40g Breeder- 6 danios, 4 female swords, 1 male swords
"I was born with nothin and I still got most of it left."- Seasick Steve

yea i agree it seems to be 100% off the store itself and the workers enthusiasm i love to see workers that love to take care off the fish and i wish i myself could work there in ayear when old enough and help improve my point about thanks for reading becasue i think the outright end of going to the entire chain is tooo much

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Bruins rule!

yea i also tend to go support the lfs cuz they are almost always better but if they dont have something dont refuse to buy it from petco or so just to kill them cuz it wont affectt them just point this out 2 the managers good or bad and buy from the good locations only

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Bruins rule!

Good looking tanks for most of them consist of scouting them for dead fish so the customers don't see tanks with dead fish in them. Petsmart/Petco is hit and miss, Sometimes even local stores don't look so hot, IME.

Our Petco and Petsmart have really good fish caretakers. The only thing lacking is the saltwater section of Petco. Generally overstocked and fish in too small of a tank.

So far, I have actually lost more fish from my LFS than I have from Petsmart. I have yet to buy any fish from PetCo in my area.

The Petsmart near me is actually pretty good. They've got a wide variety of generally healthy fish. The Petco, however is a different story. They only have a few fish, and they are not so healthy looking.

Both Petsmart and Petco near me are pretty good at animal care. Wal-Mart on the other hand is just that... Wal-Mart. They don't know crap about fish except what is on the info tags in front of the tank.
After overhearing an entire conversation of a Wal-mart worker and a new to the hobby guy I wanted to scream. The customer ended up buying a ten gallon aquarium and 3 Iridescent sharks. There was no mention of tank cycling or any sort of tank maintenance at all. The customer was completely clueless as was the associate. Stores who do this sort of stuff should be burned to the ground (not really, but it feels good to say).

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75 Gallon Planted

I'll visit the store then decide (then visit again and again). Just because I see a fish catastrophe one visit, won't mean they are banned from ever being visited again.

My big box stores are typically in better condition than any of the lfs or lps.

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100 Dirt + Stuff. To be Angel baby tank.
37 Planted. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/pla...nal-20774.html
29 Tall community tank. 5+ Years up and running.
15 Soon to be RCS tank.

I've noticed neglect of the fish in PetsMart and PetCo usually results from a disconnect between the clerks and the management. There's management that cares a lot about the fish and spends capital to provide great setups and a broad selection of fish and plants, while clerks simply neglect their jobs and thus the fish, then there's clerks out to make a difference and help the customers and the fish while their management just doesn't care. The PetsMart near my house has a great staff and and excellent selection, while the PetCo leaves a lot to be desired.

On the same token, I have the best LFS in the state just down the street from my house. They carry a HUGE selection of very specific fish, some very specialized advanced equipment like lighting and CO2 stuff, and the clerks and manager really know what they're doing. However, their stuff is horribly overpriced compared to online or the big box stores, and they know so much and are so advanced that simple questions like "what do I need to get started" usually get dismissed out of hand.

I prefer going to PetsMart for basic necessities, my LFS for specific critters, and online for everything from hardware to plants and such.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

totally agreed its usually a store to store thing so i dont like when "Petsmart sux" cuz its depends and the major thing is if ppl care more about the animals or doin minumum 2 keep job while Walmart they usually ar ebad cuz they arent a petstore so thye really should just sell items not fish cuz thye are usually in small filthy tanks usually sooo glad to see that most people dont generalize!

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Bruins rule!

it definitely depends on the store. i have a petco and petsmart both near each other where i live. the petsmart is amazing, tons of tanks, good-looking fish, dedicated staff. and the petco..... not so much. tiny tanks, dead fish, lazy staff, etc. you definitely can't write off all big stores but some definitely fit the mold of the "crappy chain store".

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29g planted, Eheim 2215 canister, Top Fin 150w heater.

Albino Cory x 4, Guppy x 8, Oto x 3, Bolivian Ram x 2

I work at petsmart in the Pet Care department. (all the fish, birds, small animals and reptiles) We have 142 aquariums, the largest fish wall in the district. We get compliments all the time about how much better we are than the local petco and a local mom and pop Pets Plus. 3 out of the 8 people we have in petcare are fish experts like myself. The others look to us and we are always teaching fellow employees and customers alike.

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55 gallon FW community
20 gallon Goldfish
10 gallon firebelly toad

I don't mind going to petco for aquarium supplies, but I find the fish they care for don't look well or do good. I saw a couple sad angels the other day at petco (one looked like it had swim bladder disorder). I have had rather good experiences at petsmart however. Their fish seem to be much healthier and they are generally less expensive than petco in my experiences.

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I've had hit and miss experiences with walmart. On one hand, it's hard to find cheaper fish, but it's also extremely hard to get the one, perhaps two healthy fish in that bunch. I've been helped by people who couldn't care less about any animal or fish, and one in particular that has a deep love of fish and animals, who was very knowledgeable.
I've actually had a higher survival rate of fish from walmart than from Petco or Petsmart, even though the petco/smart tanks looked cleaner. Still, whenever possible, I go to my LPS, to support a good, local business, even if the prices are higher and the selection isn't great.

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Lead me not to temptation...I can make it there myself just fine, thank you